Canadian Film Weekly (Feb 17, 1943)

THE PICK OF THE PICTURES REVIEWS INFORMATION | RATINGS February 17th, 1948 COAST-ITO-COAST COVERAGE Vol. 8, No. 8 ‘Shadow of a Doubt’...Superb HITCHCOCK’S NEW FILM IS TOP-NOTCH THRILLER “SHADOW OF A DOUBT” UNIVERSAL > Academy Names ‘Oscar Leaders (Continued from Page 1) ing actor and actress performances, five directing jobs, 15 writing achievements and numerous other efforts, were presented for consideration of the 10,000 members of the industry who started voting for their favorites Feb. 13. Mrs. Miniver, a Metro-GoldwynMayer picture, was the only one of the 10 films selected as the outstanding one of 1942, also to con~tain nominations for the best performance by an actress, best performances by actor and actress in a supporting role and for best achievement in directing. Results of the voting will be announced at the 15th annual awards dinner March 4. The nominations were made by members of the Screen Actors, Directors and Writers’ Guilds. The principal nominations: For the outstanding motion picture of the year: “The Invaders” (British), Ortus, Columbia. (Released in Canada under the title, “49th Parallel.) “King Row,” Warner Bros. “The Magnificent Ambersons,” Mercury, RKO Radio. “Mrs. Miniver,” Metro-GoldwynMayer. “The Pied Piper,” 20th CenturyFox. “The Pride of the Yankees,” Samuel Goldwyn, RKO Radio. “Random Harvest,” Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. “The Talk of the Town,” Columbia. “Wake Island,” Paramount. “Yankee Doodle Dandy,” Warner Bros. Best performance by an actor: James Cagney in “Yankee Doodle Dandy,” Ronald Colman in “Random Harvest,” Gary Cooper in “The Pride of the Yankees,” Walter Pidgeon in “Mrs, Miniver,” and Monty Woolley in “The Pied Piper.” Best performance by an actress: Bette Davis in “Now, Voyager,” by Warner Bros.; Greer Garson in “Mrs. Miniver,” Katharine Hepburn in “Woman of the Year,” by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Rosalind Russel in “My Sister Hileen,” by Colurmbia, Teresa Wright in ‘The Pride of the Yankees,’’ (Running Time: Alfred Hitchcock, though he has demonstrated often his ability to play with audience emotions pretty much as he pleases, has probably never had a film that so held fans in thrall as his newest, “Shadow of a Doubt,” does. There will be many a bit lip among the watchers and the edge of the seats will bear more weight than in many a movie moon. Opening in a homey manner with a look at the leisurely and friendly manner of living in a small town home, the perfect contrast is provided in a very natural manner for the harsh and upsetting goings-on that come later. From a mood of relaxation the picture builds evenly into a nerve-torturing crescendo. Like all crime films, this bows to the ultimate triumph of virtue. But unlike the rest, the triumph of virtue remains unrevealed to all but two of its characters—and the audience. “Shadow of a Doubt” is the simple story of a psychopathic murderer hiding in the home of small town relatives and impressing all with his good nature and big city polish. This role is played by Joseph Cotten, a piece of the wreckage of Orson Welles brief Hollywood cruise, and he does wonders with it. He has the most flexible face of any screen actor. It is committed in countenance neither to evil nor righteousness until Cotten wants to reflect one or the other, Teresa. Wright, grown into one of the finest boxoffice at TERESA WRIGHT whe ‘plays an out« standing role 106 Minutes) tractions today, plays the niece unexplainably drawn to Cotten, who comes upon his secret. Miss Wright’s ability requires no elaboration here. Wisely Hitchcock dispels the mystery about half-way and devotes the rest of the footage to the intensely suspenseful contest of life and death between niece and uncle. The love story, carried by Miss Wright and MacDonald Carey, 2 detective, is never allowed to get in the way of Hitchcock’s aim. A very clever device is Hitchcock’s use of Merry Widow waltzers. This is symbolism that becomes suddenly and shocking clear, tieing in exactly with the revelation of the mystery and making the audience sit up sharply. The musical score is handled in a masterly fashion, fitting neatly into each scene and absent when omission means more. Another fine trick, one that provides the humor and gives the audience something to think about when related to events disclosed later, is carried out by Henry Travers and Hume Cronyn. As two. crime-fan cronies, they carry on a harmless running discussion of the best ways to commit murder. This use of the same theme for two completely opposite effects is usually found in symphonies. Others who assist are Edna May Wonacott, a child actress, Wallace Ford and Patricia Collinge. “Shadow of a Doubt” should do strong business. There’s no doubt about its quality. Have You Returned Your ‘10 Best’ Ballot? Theatre Scene of Real Thriller (Continued from Page 1) building. They learned quickly enough that they had been needed. About i A.M. two masked men wearing Canadian military uniforms had entered the building, attacked a night watchman, tied him and Iocked him in a room. Then they found a fire watcher asleep and locked him up as well. Seven hours later, at 8 o’clock, another fire watcher who was sleeping on another floor came downstairs. He in turn was held up, robbed of his wallet and locked up. Then the women cleaners began to arrive. They were let in one by one by the men, who sfole their purses and handbags and shut them in a room. At 9 o'clock the chief operator arrived. The soldiers asked him if he was the manager. When he said the manager would not be there until later the men said: ‘'Take off your jacket, we're going to wait for him,” presumably to get the keys of the safe in which were the week-end takings. The operator removed his coat but saved his wallet by dropping it behind a radiator. Thorough search for the bandits proved futile. It was found that they had cut the cinema’s telephone wires. Fox, Paramount Back Television (Continued from Page 1) Corporation of America, Arthur Levey, president of the new corporation, has announced. Twentieth Century-Fox and Paramount are large stockholders in the venture. The new corporation is a completely independent American organization. Scophony Corporation of America. will bring to the Western Hemisphere the “supersonic” method of television projection. It is believed that television will produce a material change in the amusement industry both from the standpoint of home broadcasting, of the motion picture theatre and of the “juke-box.”